Devora Velinov (Exchange to Copenhagen, Denmark)

(Images courtesy of Devora Velinov)

For my exchange, I spent 4 months in the city of Copenhagen (CPH). This destination was my first choice and in retrospect I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The University of Copenhagen (KU) has several campuses which are located 4-5km from the center. These campuses are new, and equipped with the best technology. The autumn semester starts at the very beginning of September, however the introduction week might be in the last week of August. At KU, exchange students can only take courses at the Masters (LLM) level. This is one of the reasons the exchange office in Groningen is very selective when it comes to choosing which candidate to nominate.

I took 3 courses, namely Health and Human Rights, EU Health and Medical Law, Corporate and Social Responsibility, each being 10 ECTS. I had each once a week for 3 hours, with 2 breaks in between. I attended all the classes and still had plenty of free time. They were mixed between exchange students and Danish master students, but everything was completely in English. Also, there was no noticeable difference in level of knowledge in spite of the fact that some students were doing their masters and others were still in their bachelors. I would definitely recommend taking the courses I took if you have an interest in health law or human rights in general.

The KU Faculty of Law has a very organized introduction week, so definitely don’t miss it. For 300kr (around 40 euros) we were provided with plenty of activities (Christiania tour, pub crawls, canal tour on a boat, drinks, pub quiz night) These events were the best way to meet people, which for me ended up being the time I met the friends I was closest to for the whole exchange period. After intro week there was plenty of time to explore all of CPH’s hotspots and hidden gems. Copenhagen is perfect for a city lover, rather than a nature lover. The temperatures from October are similar to Groningen, but there is much less rain. All of its finest is always only a bike ride away. I got to experience CPH life enough to enjoy all the perks and some of the less attractive attributes. Danes generally were very nice, friendly, and always willing to help. Overall, I had a good time there during my exchange.